


The Five Times Ladybug Denies Her Feelings For Chat (And The One Time She Doesn’t)

by SilverMoonSky



Series: Ladynoir July 2020 [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Denial of Feelings, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Ladynoir July, Ladynoir July 2020, Or in which Ladybug finally realizes she has feelings for Chat, Post-Episode: s03 Miracle Queen (The Battle of the Miraculous Part 2), Post-Season/Series 03, Pre-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Sweet, Though it does take her quite a while
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:33:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25063192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMoonSky/pseuds/SilverMoonSky
Summary: She’d never been particularly fond of “bugaboo,” but she’d always liked “my lady.” But she wasn’t his lady. She never had been, and never would be.Marinette didn’t realize how much she missed the phrase until it was nearly nonexistent.She let out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling. This was stupid. She shouldn’t be feeling like this over something as silly as nicknames. It wasn’t even her place to feel this way.(She hated that she did, anyway.)Written for Day 3: In Denial for Ladynoir July.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Ladynoir July 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1812397
Comments: 26
Kudos: 240





	The Five Times Ladybug Denies Her Feelings For Chat (And The One Time She Doesn’t)

Ladybug really shouldn’t have been surprised when Chat told her he finally got a girlfriend.

“A girlfriend?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Are you trying to make me jealous again?”

“No, LB,” Chat said. He seemed slightly impatient for some reason; his leg bounced up and down from where it was dangling off the Eiffel Tower. “I _actually_ have a girlfriend now.”

Really, she shouldn’t have. Ever since she’d become the Guardian several weeks ago, Chat had been pulling farther and farther away. It was only a matter of time before he finally moved on.

So then why was she shocked anyway?

“O-oh. That’s nice.”

Chat hummed in agreement. “Yeah. She tried asking me out a couple of weeks ago, but back then—” he broke off, knowing she’d heard the implication. “But anyways. I was the one that asked her out this time. And she said yes.”

To Ladybug, the implication was loud and clear: several weeks ago, he’d still been hung up on _her,_ his superhero partner.

“That’s great, Chat.” Ladybug gave him what she hoped was a genuine smile. “What’s she like?”

Chat’s face suddenly seemed to light up—not nearly as much as it did when he talked about her alter ego, Ladybug noted in the back of her mind—but the affection was still there. It was evident whoever this girl was, he liked her quite a bit.

“She’s great. She’s smart, pretty, talented. . . .” A small smile rested on Chat’s lips as he continued talking.

For some reason, Ladybug felt an uneasy feeling fluttering within her as he began speaking about his new girlfriend. It was a feeling she’d felt many times before, and yet, she couldn’t place exactly what it was. Eventually, Ladybug chalked it up to the fact that Chat had finally found someone to be happy with, while she hadn’t.

_Yet._

“I’m sure you two would be great friends,” Chat said. There was a glint in his eyes that she couldn’t quite catch, almost as if he knew more than he was letting on.

“Yeah,” Ladybug agreed, her mind elsewhere, “I’m sure we’d be great friends too.”

But with luck, hopefully she’d find someone she could be happy with soon—even if it wasn’t Adrien.

(Or Chat, the small voice in her head whispered.

Ladybug ignored the thought.)

* * *

It was about a week after Ladybug learned her partner had a girlfriend, and the latest akuma fight had felt her feeling empty inside. Ladybug swung to her balcony and slipped inside of her bedroom before detransforming. She couldn’t place it. There had been something. . . _off_ about the entire encounter. The fight had been fairly easy; there had been no need to get new Miraculous holders, and the victim’s powers hadn’t been too hard or abnormal, anyways. But there had been _something_ off about the fight, or specifically, something off about—

_Oh._

Marinette suddenly felt stupid for not seeing it earier. As she lay in bed thinking about the fight, she realized something: it had been a late night akuma attack, and Chat hadn’t said goodbye.

Actually no—Chat _had_ said goodbye. But it definitely hadn’t been what she was used to. They’d fist bumped, but instead of saying, “sweet dreams, my lady,” like he used to after a late night fight, this time he hadn’t.

Marinette bit her lip, tossing and turning in her bed. The room was dark; she was sure Tikki was already asleep by now, otherwise, Marinette would probably talk to her about it. But what could she say? That Chat hadn’t called her “my lady”? That she missed the nickname? It was stupid. Chat had a girlfriend now. He couldn’t call her “my lady”; that would be betraying the other girl’s trust.

Her superhero partner had been pulling away for weeks now—she’d known that. But today had been the day it truly hit her; she hadn’t realized how much she missed the nicknames. They’d always been such a prominent part of her relationship with Chat Noir, and now that they were no longer there. . . .

She’d never been particularly fond of “bugaboo,” but she’d always liked “my lady.” But she _wasn’t_ his lady. She never had been, and never would be.

Marinette didn’t realize how much she missed the phrase until it was nearly nonexistent.

She let out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling. This was stupid. She shouldn’t be feeling like this over something as silly as nicknames. It wasn’t even her _place_ to feel this way.

(She hated that she did, anyway.)

* * *

Patrol with Chat hadn’t always necessarily been something Ladybug looked forward to. But now? She particularly started to despise it.

As the months flew by, akuma attacks became harder, school brought more pressure, and her love life was getting more complicated—between her friends not-so subtly pointing her towards Luka and Adrien dating Kagami, it was safe to say that sometimes, she felt overwhelmed.

And Chat _still_ continued to casually bring up a certain someone on patrol.

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Chat said, turning to her as soon as they finished for the night, “that place you suggested for our last date was great. My girlfriend loved it.”

Ladybug gave him a—hopefully genuine—smile. “That’s awesome! What did you guys do?”

Not to say that Chat was being inconsiderate of her feelings—in fact, if she told Chat to stop, she knew he would—but it was the fact that she _continued_ to encourage him.

Yes, she was digging herself into her own grave. But how could she _not_ encourage him? Chat always seemed so happy when he talked about his girlfriend. She couldn’t possibly take that away from him.

As Chat began recounting the date with the mystery girl, involving that garden she’d suggested, Ladybug’s mind started to wander. The Jardin des Tuileries had always been one of her favorite places; she absolutely loved sitting there and sketching. She drew inspiration from so many things there—the flowers, the water, the _people_ —

Civilian Chat must be as loud and annoying as he was in the suit, she mused. He was probably decently good-looking as well. Not to Adrien’s level, of course, but similar. Maybe that was what his girlfriend liked so much about him. Or perhaps she found his silly puns funny.

Whatever it was, Ladybug had to admit that the date would’ve been nice—Chat would have made sure of it. He’d always been a “go big or go home” type of person, and she didn’t doubt for a second that he was affectionate and showered his girlfriend with love.

Just like he’d once done for her.

In a split second, Ladybug was suddenly wondering what it would be like if _she’d_ been the one on the date with him. If she’d been the one he’d walked through the garden with, if she’d held his hand, whispering and exchanging soft words, if he’d turned to her, pulling her close, melding their lips together with a kiss—

_Oh, no._

Her brain nearly short-circuited. She frantically pulled back the train of thought, telling her to come back to the present. . . . but it was too late. The fantasy had engraved itself into her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized it wasn’t something she wanted to let go of.

Ladybug didn’t know how to feel about that.

(And Chat continued to ramble, she wasn’t sure if she even entirely hated herself for thinking of the thought.)

* * *

Ladybug didn’t know when their fleeting touches had started to feel different.

Really. They were superheroes. The two of them had been thrown in plenty of unpleasant situations with their bodies pressed flushed together and she hadn’t batted an eye, even when Chat was slightly inappropriate about it. Nothing should have changed; they were just Ladybug and Chat Noir. This was her partner, the same boy she’d been fighting with for _years._

Yet suddenly, Ladybug found herself jumping at the slightest brush of his hand, whenever she felt his breath against her neck, whenever they landed on the ground with him right on top of her.

He always moved away as quickly as he came, an apology always resting at the tip of his tongue.

She’d accept it, despite it not being his fault.

It didn’t stop the color from rising to her cheeks, anyways.

This particular akuma attack had been nothing unusual; they didn’t need any new Miraculous holders, and the victim’s powers weren’t too hard to defeat, either. But the moment she’d called her lucky charm, something—no, _someone_ —slammed into her from behind, causing her to easily lose her balance. She yelped, and the next thing she knew, Chat was right on top of her, and she was staring up into his cat-like green eyes, losing herself in their depth—

Chat instantly scrambled off of her. “Ladybug! Are you okay?” Like the gentleman he was, he got to his feet and stretched out a hand, offering it to her.

Ladybug sat up. Her gaze passed over his hand, trailing up his body, and she looked up to his eyes to see nothing but concern.

“I’m fine,” she muttered. She maneuvered herself up to her feet. “Now where did the akuma go?”

She didn’t take his hand.

She didn’t look at him.

If she’d bothered to look, she would have seen the slightest flash of hurt in her partner’s eyes.

For the rest of the time, she tried her hardest to keep at least several inches between them, and unfortunately, Ladybug wasn’t able to concentrate for the rest of the fight.

(And this time, she knew exactly why.)

* * *

Chat and his girlfriend had been dating for nearly a year when he told Ladybug they broke up.

Ladybug had never been much of the comforting type; in fact, she usually did more harm than good when it came to consoling people. She wanted to say “I told you so, relationships while you’re a superhero never work out”, or “you deserve much better than that girl.”

However, one look at his face told her that wouldn’t help at all.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked quietly.

Chat shrugged. His legs dangled off the Eiffel Tower as he gazed at the night sky. “A lot of things led to it,” he said. “Our relationship wasn’t as solid as we let people believe. I mean, I was always running off in the middle of dates to fight akumas”—he let out a bitter laugh, and Ladybug’s heart clenched—“and that’s bound to lead to trust issues.”

“I’m so sorry,” Ladybug murmured.

He turned and gave her a pained smile. “Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault.”

It wasn’t. She knew that. . . . and yet, some part of her couldn’t help but think that if she’d reciprocated Chat’s advances, he wouldn’t be sitting here with his heart broken. If she’d returned his feelings back then, he’d be _happy,_ giving her a smile filled with love instead of pain.

Ladybug bit her lip. “Why, Chat?” she whispered. “I thought you loved her. You could’ve made it work.”

He hesitated before whispering back, “I don’t love her the way I want to. I don’t love her the way she wants me to.”

Ladybug looked into his eyes, seeing his fresh, raw hurt. “But. . . . why?”

Chat looked back at her, moisture welling up in his eyes, and said softly, sincerely, “because I’m still in love with someone else.”

Ladybug’s breath caught in her throat. Her lips parted as she blinked slowly, taking in the information. Their gazes were still interlocked, but she couldn’t find it in her to avert her eyes elsewhere.

“W-what?”

“I’m still in love with someone else.”

If what he’d said earlier had felt like a dream, this felt more like the truth. Felt more like reality. And yet—

“Who?”

At that, Chat gave her a small smile. “You, my lady,” he murmured, so quietly she had to strain her ears to hear him. “Who else would it be?”

Ladybug wasn’t sure she heard that right.

“What?”

Chat got to his feet. “I should head home now,” he muttered under his breath. “It’s getting late.”

They both knew it was a lie. But she didn’t stop him as he took out his baton and leaped off of the Eiffel Tower.

It was a long time before Ladybug finally moved her perch on the Tower.

(She’d be lying if she said there wasn’t a small part of her feeling relieved at the information Chat had just revealed.)

* * *

The truth of everything she’d been feeling in the past couple of months finally hit her during yet another akuma fight. It had been several days since Chat revealed he still had feelings for her, and in all honesty? She was avoiding him like the plague.

Or at least, Ladybug tried to. Because akuma attacks _really_ didn’t leave room for that.

Once again, this akuma hadn’t seemed to be anything out of the ordinary. She and Chat had continued with their normal fighting style—taunting the akuma, figuring out their powers, and working on a way to defeat them. This akuma happened to be one similar to Stoneheart; heavyweight, and very, very strong.

Ladybug had called out her lucky charm when it happened. One moment she’d been trying to figure out what to do with a pair of scissors, and the next her partner was yelling, “Ladybug, look out!” as he jumped in front of her, and instantly the akuma picked him up and threw him to the side as if he weighed no more than a feather. Chat went flying. The back of his head hit a building and he fell several stories to the ground.

“Chat!” Ladybug screamed, eyes widening in horror. She quickly dodged the akuma and started making her way towards where her partner was. However, from where he lay on the side of the street, unconscious and way too far away from her, it was clear he wasn’t getting up anytime soon.

After that, Ladybug felt her vision blur with red. She didn’t know how she did it, but soon she was throwing her Miraculous cure, and it swept across the city as she ran towards her partner, ignoring all the reporters calling out to her, ignoring the now deakumatized victim as they scrunched their forehead in confusion.

She was only looking out for Chat.

She only _cared_ about Chat.

What if something had happened to him? What if something had happened and he was seriously hurt and he needed her and—

Oh.

_Oh._

And suddenly, it was as if a switch had turned on in her head, presenting her with a new idea. An idea that she’d perhaps always had in her head, but only now was it truly coming to mind.

Chat _needed_ her. He was hurt. He’d once again thrown himself at the akuma so _she_ wouldn’t be feeling the same pain he was going through. Ladybug knew why he did it; she may not approve, but she knew he had a reason.

So then why did it hurt so much worse now than ever before?

Ladybug knelt at Chat’s side, shaking his shoulders feverently, saying his name over and over, begging for him to get up. She’d done this dozens of times. But never before had Ladybug felt such urgency. She’d never felt the need to scream, or the urge to scoop him up in her arms and take him somewhere safe. She’d always trusted the Miraculous cure to fix him; why was this time any different?

It was different because Chat wasn’t _just_ her partner. He wasn’t _just_ her best friend. He wasn’t just her sidekick, or someone insignificant.

He was her partner. Her best friend. Her other half.

She _loved_ him.

And it had just taken way too long for her to realize it.

Chat’s eyes flickered open and he looked up, giving her a smile that normally would make her go weak in the knees. “Hey, bugaboo,” he croaked. “What’s up?”

That was when Ladybug finally choked on a sob and threw her arms around him, simultaneously wanting to cry and scold him for being so reckless.

_I love you._

She wanted to pepper his forehead with kisses, to whisper promises in his ears as she begged him to never throw himself in front of her like that again.

_I love you._

But Ladybug was a coward. She couldn’t bring herself to say the words out loud.

Instead, she simply embraced him, hoping her actions would show what her mouth refused to say.

_I love you._

At first he returned the hug tentatively, but as soon as his arms were around her he pulled her closer, burying his head against her shoulder as his grip tightened. Ladybug could almost picture the words coming from his lips, the affection in his eyes as he gazed down at her, the way he wouldn’t agree to her terms but wouldn’t deny them either, because. . . .

_I love you too._

And god, she was such an idiot for not realizing how she felt sooner.


End file.
